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Hello everyone,

I'm new to this forum and I've been doing some research for a digital piano. I'm a long time acoustic piano player (on my good ol' acoustic piano )in search for a digital piano for practice purpose. My search has originally narrowed down to Yamaha P120 and Roland FP5 (tho I'm aiming toward Roland), until I saw Korg's SP500 review. I'm quite surprised there are so few PW forum members discussing about this piano. It seems like a great digital piano...anyone here owns it? Some comments please
I haven't had the chance to try the Korg since I'm so focused on the P120 and FP5, but will check it out this weekend.

Now, since I'm lousy at digital piano technology, I have some questions...
Is Korg's 64 notes polyphony the same as Roland's 64 voice polyphony?
Korg has 6 TouchControl feature, which seems attractive though Roland also offers quite similar feature. Any FP5 owner use this feature?

Overall, in term of looks (from pics), I like Korg better, the touch screen feature sounds quite attractive too, BUT...I'm looking for the one that has the closest touch and sound to an acoustic piano, so those extra features are quite negligible.

I'm hoping any of the forum member can comment on these 2 products. People here seems to really favor Roland FP5, no doubt about it, it's a great piano (digital-wise, off course :rolleyes: ).

And if you read till this line... God bless you!
Thank you so much for your attention!

I thought the same thing when I looked at the specs on the korg sp500. Then, when I actually got to try one in the store I found the action to be very "plasticky". That's just my opinion of course, but it didn't feel anything like the heavier, more solid yamaha and casio actions I had already tried.

I would try it out before you buy it, if possible. If you haven't already done so, check out the reviews at http://www.harmony-central.com/Synth/Data/Korg/SP-500-01.html

Thanks fojae,

That's also the review I checked out earlier, along with zzounds.com.
I've tried SP200 (or SP300, can't remember) a while ago and wasn't really impressed-the piano sound's good but the action's a bit "bouncy" and you're right, "plasticky" also. I thought they'll improve for SP500..I'll check it out later. The sound samples they provide in Korg's website is impressive tho.

What did you end up buying?

I ended up with a yamaha p250. If you like a heavier action yamaha is great. Those who like a lighter action (more like most acoustic pianos except for huge concert grands) seem to prefer the rolands. Haven't heard much about the korgs on this forum.

I own the Yamaha P120. It has superb Acoustic and Electric Pianos, and a beatiful graded hammer action. The dynamics are beatiful, and the Acoustic Pianos are warm and mellow.

The Korg and Roland both have lighter actions, therefore, they will allow limited dynamics when playing. A lot of people prefer the Roland Action over others, but many people also think they are too light. The Korg on the other hand is just plasticky. When I tried it out at Guitar Center, it felt like the keys were going to bounce off. They didn't feel very sturdy. The Roland Action is clearly superior to the Korgs Action.

The Acoustic Pianos on the Korg are just plain thin. I could not get good dynamics out of the Korg's Acoustic Pianos. The Rolands Acoustic Pianos, however, are very nice, and are superior to the Korgs Acoustic Pianos. The only problem with the Rolands Acoustic Pianos is that they lack dynamics, due to the lighter action and key feel.

Out of the Roland and Korg, I would say go with the Roland. It is much nicer than the Korg, and you will be happy with it's Acoustic Pianos.

Chris

The Yamaha P120 and P90 are overrated. Down action too heavy, up action too firm, and the bottom is hard. After 10 minutes I start to feel like my finger tips were going to get bruised.

The Casio Privias are giving the Yamahas some serious competition. The Roland FP5 and FP2 are good. The Yamaha P250 does sound good if you can handle the weight lifter's action.

Thanks everyone!

Rintincop, you're right, Yamaha is a bit overrated tho I agree they sound great, but I guess everybody's entitled to their opinions
I agree...the keys are heavier but this, of course, is a matter of personal opinion. I see a lot of people love the heavier and firmer action of Yamaha.

I end up choosing Roland MP60, after considering that portability is not my priority and space isn't a problem too. I went to the store to get the FP5 and saw MP60, and didn't have any idea what it was. Tried to play for a while and love it.

Maybe that's one benefit of not knowing about the product :p ...my decision is based on what feels and sounds good and just right for me

Rintincop's experience is exactly the same as mine, when I demoed the Yamaha. I felt like my fingers were being pushed up and the bottom was like playing a desk top. I needed to stop playing because my finger tips were getting sore and felt like they would get bruised.

I fail to understand Chris's point of view that the Roland action is less dynamic than the Yamaha.

hi, i'm new to this forum. i own sp500 before but i sold it. don't be impressed with touch screen coz they are 100% certain to act up in a few weeks, months.. go for the sound and action..
the piano sound is so-so.. not so impressive..
my korg pa50's piano sound is really superior.. compared to sp500..
the hammer action, the same, not so imressive..

at the moment, i'm torn between roland fp7 and kawai es4..
digital piano with speakers.. somethin i can use even without carrying speakers..
somewhat plug and play..
inside my room and anywhere..
kawai's sound seems better than yamaha, roland and korg..
though the lower keys of my pa50 are EXTREMELY powerful and are like thunders inside our house when hit really hard..
the power i love..
yamaha p140 seems good but it doesn't have usb ports so i can't make minus ones..
someone help me?
cp300 is off my list since it's damn heavy..
good action and sound but super heavy..
you need superman if wanna go out for any gig..
but some middle keys of cp300 sound synthetic..
didn't reach my expectation..
need your help guys..